What's Left of Me
by Neverose
Summary: Sora thinks that his life is over when Kairi leaves him. But little does he know that someone is thinking of him on a distant world... Riku x Sora - is there any other? 1st fanfic in 4 years. Readers will get a virtual Moogle pom-pom & my undying love
1. Chapter One

What's Left of Me

Neverose

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts! Or Sora and Riku would have been an item long ago… And Moogles would rule the worlds. All of them._

So this is my first fanfiction in around four years, so I'm really hoping I haven't lost all of my skill! If you like it, please do let me know. Hopefully the Sora/Riku points of view will be self-explanatory, though again, if it's unclear, feel free to nag me! The first chapter is mostly introductory, so the real excitement should begin in the next chapter, and chapter three is where I really start to get into it. Oh, and it does get happier! Much happier. And more amusing.

Anyways, I have rambled enough,

Love and stuff,

Neverose.

* * *

Chapter One

It was over. As Sora stared into the sunset, he felt nothing. Not the warmth of the sun's glow on his face or the soft sand beneath his feet. He was empty. The love of his life had left him. And nothing remained but darkness.

Or so he thought…

* * *

Theirs had been a tumultuous love affair. They spent a long time apart, and the time they spent together was either perfect or atrocious. There was no in-between. The arguments could last for weeks, and the simplest of things could set her off. Kairi: the name that burned a seal upon his heart. Of course, the perfection that they shared, whilst rare, was enough to convince Sora that she was 'the one'. Never mind the fact that whilst he was off fighting the heartless in order to save her, she had been chasing after the other Island boys. No, this didn't matter to Sora. He would have let her do anything so long as she still loved him. But now, he was unsure whether she ever did.

The beautiful views, from Destiny Island, that he had once lived for, had become a constant reminder, bringing him nothing but pain. She was in every sunrise and sunset; in every cloud and every grain of sand. She was everywhere. And she was destroying him. He had to leave. And now he knew of so many new worlds – surely he could have his pick? But Sora didn't care where. So long as he could forget. Forget the feeling of her touch, her embrace and her breath upon his cheek – those simple feelings that could transport him to the gates of heaven. Feelings that he truly believed he could never experience again.

"There is no functional advantage to heartbreak," Sora insisted to himself. "None whatsoever." He was pacing the shoreline, cursing at the sky as he did so, remembering her face as she led him along – remembering the warning signs but fully knowing that had he realised then, that she was only using him, he still would have followed her to the end of all worlds. His friends had warned him. She had treated him badly from the beginning. But when he returned from one of his more dangerous adventures; she had changed – he thought – for the better. She didn't run off with the other boys anymore. She didn't hurt him. But she _did _test him – making him do all sorts of things in order to be deemed 'good enough' – a title that she never bestowed upon him, and Sora now believed that she never intended to. He was her amusement for a while. Nothing more. "Whore," he whispered. "But she was my whore. And I loved her."

Kicking the sand up with his shoes, he wiped the now familiar tears from his eyes. He wouldn't – no – he _couldn't _think about _them. _He didn't know the guy, and he didn't want to. It was enough that she had been seeing him whilst Sora had still been under the impression that they were – at least in some respects – together. Kairi had always held her need for freedom over his head; as though it was his fault for making her feel trapped or caged in. But all Sora wanted was her love. He should have known when she refused to share the paopu fruit with him. He tore her charm from his neck and hurled it into the ocean.

* * *

Riku awoke to the familiar sound of machinery. He had been working as part of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee for over a year, and he had grown used to sleeping through all manner of mechanical noises. Of course, that didn't change his dreams. They were always the same.

The same spiky haired boy with the same cheesy grin.

Everyone else said he looked like a fool and behaved like a child, but Riku knew better. There is no greater beauty than innocence, and everyone else was simply jealous of it. But Sora had been changed; both by his fight against the heartless and – maybe even more so – by Kairi's betrayal. Riku had never liked her. He tolerated her, with her sickeningly sweet demeanour and less-than-subtle advances. But as soon as she stole Sora, Riku tolerated her no longer. It was about the time she stopped cheating on Sora that he left. They were clearly trying to make it work and he didn't want to get in the way. As far as he knew, they were still together; maybe even married by now. Sora was nineteen after all. He wasn't a child anymore.

And Riku felt older everyday. Away from home, with no friends or family, save for the committee, he felt increasingly lonely. He had a casual relationship with Leon, but nothing that gave him what he needed. They'd come back to the house after work and if there was nobody else there, they'd make use of the master bedroom. But there was no emotion. No feeling. Riku's heart was with Sora and Leon's… Well, nobody really knew where Leon's was. He was always so closed off. Every night Riku would look up at the sky and remember. Remember a time before the darkness, when he and Sora would race along the beach, disguising lust as friendly competitiveness. At least, that was what Riku was doing… He used to think that Sora felt the same, but now…

Pulling on his work clothes, Riku tried to ignore the heavy feeling in his heart, and the untameable fantasies circling his mind.

"They serve no purpose," he muttered.

"What was that?" Came a voice from the doorway. Riku started,

"Christ, Leon, you scared me!"

"Sorry. I just like watching you get dressed in the mornings… that's all." Riku looked away. Leon was becoming more and more affectionate everyday and it made him uncomfortable. Their relationship worked because there was a mutual lack of feeling. But if that changed… "Come on, you've got work to do," muttered Leon, trying to brush off Riku's silent rejection.

"I'm coming," he replied, waiting until Leon had left the room to take the aging photograph from under his pillow and put it into his pocket.

* * *

Sora was restless. The Island that was once his paradise had become his hell. He needed to leave. He couldn't stand another chance meeting with Kairi and her new boyfriend. So as soon as he had finished watching the sunset as usual, he returned to his house and unpacked the maps from his old adventures. Pouring over them in earnest, he felt the beginnings of excitement. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. As he leafed through the familiar worlds, a scrap of paper fell to the floor. Curious, he reached for it.

_Dear Sora,_

_I know this letter may never reach you, but thinking of you is all that keeps me going in this world. When despair threatens to take my heart, I think of you. Your soft hair, your crystal blue eyes and your timeless smile and the darkness fades away. I am blind here, but I can still see your face – every minute of everyday._

_Yours,_

_R._

Sora stared at the letter for a few minutes, pondering where it had come from, and who had written it. Sora, it has to be said, was not the brightest of youths.

A knock on the door startled him. He hastily hid the letter and maps under his bed – he didn't want anyone to know that he was planning to leave. He didn't want a fuss. And besides, he would undoubtedly return someday.

"Yes?" Sora called, pulling his duvet over the papers.

"It's… It's me…" stammered a familiar voice. Sora's heart froze. "Can I come in?" Sora remained silent, but slowly moved towards the door. As he slid the bolt lock back, his heart was in his mouth. He opened the door to see Kairi bathed in moonlight. His heart ached. "I just… I just wanted to see how you were doing. No-one's seen you for a while…" Sora shrugged off her concern with a nonchalant shrug. He didn't want her to know how much he was hurting. "I brought you some food… It's just… You've lost a lot of weight." Sora took the basket from her outstretched hands. Her pity was suffocating and he couldn't stand it. He needed her to leave.

"I've got things to do," he said. "I'm still working on trying to find out where Riku went. You know… He left without saying anything and nobody else seems to care whether or not he's alive…"

"I care!" Kairi exclaimed. "Of course I care. Riku was our friend."

"Really? Our friend? No. He was my friend. And you were my friend. But he was not your friend." Kairi looked offended and made to leave. Sora didn't stop her.

"You've changed," she stated coolly.

"So have you." And with that, she walked out the door, leaving Sora alone with his thoughts once more.

After a moment's reprieve, Sora returned to the letter. No-one had ever said such beautiful things about him before, and he felt moved by the words. He considered asking Kairi whether she had written it, but he knew that it couldn't be her. She never paid him such compliments. After a while, Sora went back to inspecting his maps, and decided that he would journey to Hollow Bastion. He had friends there, and he would appreciate the new scenery – especially now that it was heartless-free. Of course he would miss his friends here, but they had been distant with him lately, preferring to spend time with Kairi and her new… Yes, Sora needed to leave. He tried to think about the last time he was truly happy. He thought about Riku. About the days they would spend racing along the beach. Such unrestrained joy – he had never felt anything like it since. Even with Kairi.

And somewhere in a distant world; Riku was waiting…


	2. Chapter Two

I know there's a lot of POV switching in this chapter, but in the next one, that problem should be gone. Don't ask me how. It spoils the plot. :P

Again, readers will get my virtual adoration and reviewers will get my real-life adoration,

NR

* * *

Chapter Two

_He thought about Riku. About the days they would spend racing along the beach. Such unrestrained joy – he had never felt anything like it since. Even with Kairi._

_And somewhere in a distant world; Riku was waiting…_

* * *

"Riku! Riku! Get over here, now!" Yuffie's shouting could be heard over any machinery. "We need you to captain the crane today, we're fixing roofs." Riku obligingly slid into the driving seat and made to close the door.

"Wait! I'll help you," panted Leon, who was running up to him.

"No, it's okay, I can manage." Leon looked hurt. "Oh, okay then, if you can fit…" But Riku had barely finished his sentence when Leon clambered into the vehicle. After some rearranging, Leon was comfortably positioned behind Riku, with his legs either side of him, looking rather proud of himself.

"Don't get any ideas…" Riku warned.

"Too late," and Leon pulled the man into a passionate kiss. Riku was taken aback, but didn't resist. There was something about Leon… He couldn't quite put a finger on it. But something bothered him. But he was a good enough lover, so he wasn't about to complain. Especially when his only other option was Cid.

"Hey boys, get back to work!" Yuffie's command snapped Riku out of confusion and he gave Leon a quick death-glare before returning to the task at hand.

"You love it," Leon retorted. Riku paused. Sora used to say that to him, whenever he lost a race. He used to say;

"You love it – when I win, because then I always buy you dinner." And he always did. Those were the happiest times of his life and Leon's emulation of it only made the pain stronger.

"Riku? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah. Yeah I heard you. Let's just get back to work, okay?" And Leon fell silent. Defeated.

* * *

"_Gummi Ship to Hollow Bastion leaving in ten minutes… That's ten minutes!"_

Sora looked up at the departures board and found his terminal number.

"Shit," he cursed. "That's the other side of the airport!" He picked up his rucksack and sprinted as fast as he could, knocking over an unsuspecting moogle on the way. "Sorry!" The moogle looked less than impressed, and haughtily rearranged his pom-pom before resuming his travels. Embarrassed, but not deterred, Sora continued sprinting to Terminal 5, and burst through the door just in time to see Chip closing off the gate.

"Wait!" Sora ran up to the chipmunk. "Please… *pant* Please let me through…" Chip looked up and beamed at the sight of the familiar face.

"Of course I'll let you through Sora! Come on in! How have you been?" And Sora recounted his most recent escapades happily, as he made his way aboard the Gummi Ship.

* * *

"Steady… Steady… Woah! That's it." Riku released the lever to leave the roof in place.

"Perfect," he commented proudly.

"You and your O.C.D…" Leon muttered. Riku jabbed him playfully in the side. "Ouch! You can be a real bitch sometimes you know…"

"Yeah well so can you," and Riku stuck his tongue out as he said so. Leon responded in kind, before pulling him in for another kiss. Leon was being very affectionate today, Riku thought, but at least it provided him with a distraction. It was coming up to Sora's birthday and it was all he could think about. He spent hours debating with himself whether or not to send a card, a gift or more. Or nothing at all. He didn't want to disturb his piece of peace. When Leon finally broke away, he was smiling.

"What?" Riku asked, curiously.

"Oh nothing, I can just tell when your head's somewhere else."

"Was not…" Riku muttered.

"Oh yes it was. And I bet I can guess where." Leon grabbed Riku's hand and thrust it down his trousers. Riku hastily snatched it away and leapt out of the vehicle.

"Leon!" He hissed. "Behave!"

"You love it!" Leon called after him. Riku shook his head.

* * *

"Did you hear about the new recruits?" Riku looked up from his paper.

"Huh?"

"The new recruits," Aerith repeated. "They're flying in from Destiny Island to help." Riku's heart leapt several stories before plunging back down into the pit of his stomach. Could it be… Him? Or worse… _Them?_ Aerith seemed to have sensed his hesitation and added, "I know that's where you came from… If there's someone you'd rather not see, we can arrange to have them work on another part of the world if you'd prefer?" Riku forced a grateful smile.

"That's very generous of you Aerith, but I uhm… I'm sure I don't know them. Destiny Islands has become a lot more populated since the transport links opened up, so it could be anyone."

"Well okay, if you're sure. The ship should be arriving any minute now." And she swept out of the room, leaving Riku dumbstruck.

He had to get to the airport. He had to know.

Hurtling out of the door, he almost collided with Leon in his rush to get to the airport.

"Hey stranger how are you…"

"No time," Riku stammered. "Got to meet the new recruits."

"But… I thought that was Yuffie's job?" Leon called after him. But it was too late, Riku was gone.

* * *

Sora stepped off the ship into sunlight. The gothic scenery of Hollow Bastion loomed over him like a mythical fairytale. He had forgotten quite how intimidating a floating castle could be… Walking out into the sunshine, he spotted a familiar face.

"Yuffie!" He called. The ninja turned around and her face lit up.

"Sora? Oh my god it _is _you!" She hurtled towards him and nearly bowled him over in a rib-crushing hug. "It's so good to see you!" Sora beamed. This was definitely the right place to come. "Oh just wait until Riku sees you!" Sora froze. "Wait… You mean… You didn't _know?_"

* * *

Riku made his way through the crowd as best he could, but recognised none of the faces alighting the ship. His heart sank. Of _course _it wouldn't be him. Why would he be _here? _He was still on Destiny Islands having the time of his life with Kairi… Riku turned and made to walk back home again when he heard Yuffie calling him.

"Riku! Riku! Come here _now!" _Riku was not in the mood for one of her games.

"Not now Yuffie, maybe later."

"No," she asserted. "_Not _later. _Now." _Reluctantly, Riku turned around.

* * *

Sora couldn't believe his eyes. He was real. He was _here. _The same bright green eyes. The same silver hair. The same muscled body… Riku… _Riku_ was here.

* * *

Riku froze. His gaze fixed on the two crystal blue orbs in front of him. He was rooted to the spot but the orbs were getting closer. As Sora walked towards him, Riku felt his heart race and his hands shake.

"Riku?" Sora whispered, unable to believe his eyes. Riku nodded slowly and Sora's eyes glimmered with tears. "Riku!" Hurling his arms around the older man, Sora began sobbing hysterically. Riku just stood there, utterly dazed. Yuffie looked like she was about to giggle, but maintained her composure. "Oh Riku, I _knew _you were okay. I asked everyone where you were and nobody knew but you're _here. _Oh you're _here._"

"I'm… I'm here." Was all Riku managed to reply, as he tentatively returned Sora's embrace.

"I'm here."


	3. Chapter Three

Okay, so starting to develop things here. I remain hopeful for reviewers *crosses fingers* Had a look at my old fanfics earlier and realised how different they were. They were all in first person, and possibly better, so I am considering changing this story to first person as well, but I'm not sure...

* * *

Chapter Three

"_Oh Riku, I knew you were okay. I asked everyone where you were and nobody knew but you're here. Oh you're here."_

"_I'm… I'm here." Was all Riku managed to reply, as he tentatively returned Sora's embrace. "I'm here."_

* * *

"Riku…?" Riku looked up. "Are you… are you eating peanut butter straight from the jar?" Riku nodded. Leon paused before continuing, "…why are you eating peanut butter straight from the jar?" Riku pointed weakly to a spiky haired boy sitting in an armchair, with a huge grin on his face. Leon started, "Sora? Oh my god it's you!" Leon walked over to the boy. "It's been too long."

"I know, I know," Sora replied. "I think I freaked Riku out a little…"

"Oh, don't worry about him; he freaks out all the time." Leon smirked. Riku glared at him before retorting,

"I am _not_ freaking out. I'm just hungry." Neither Leon nor Sora looked convinced, and they resumed their conversation.

"Are you here as part of the committee?"

"Yep," Sora replied cheerfully. "A fresh start and a fresh purpose." Riku looked up.

"A fresh start from _what_ exactly?" He inquired. Sora looked away. Riku's heart swelled with hope, but he tried to disguise his joy with another spoonful of peanut butter.

"A fresh start from… everything." A tear trickled down Sora's cheek. Riku was over there in a flash. He had always been protective of the younger boy. Delicately, he wiped the tear from Sora's cheek. Leon looked disgruntled and sat down in the opposite corner, in order to give the boys some space. "She…" Sora began. "She _left _me." And he burst into tears. Riku took the opportunity to fling his arms around the boy. That scent. God, how he had missed it. It smelt like the freedom of the ocean and the beauty of the sunset. He felt Sora's body jerk with the pain of emotion, and he held on tight. He felt his entire body grow numb with an overflowing of joy, as warm tears soaked his own face. They were interlocked in a battle of emotion. Sadness and joy; sorrow and hope; despair and elation. When Sora finally broke away, he looked into Riku's sea green eyes and said, "Thank you." Riku smiled weakly and wiped more tears from Sora's face.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

* * *

Once the boys had regained their composure, they went outside to greet the rest of the committee. Everyone was thrilled to have Sora back, but they weren't oblivious to Riku's strange behaviour and none more so than Leon, who was highly suspicious of Riku's sudden emotional rollercoaster. Normally the man was so… consistent. Apathetic as hell – but consistent. Leon looked at Riku's smile in disbelief. He couldn't remember ever seeing him smile like that.

"Oh, I'm so glad to be back!" sang Sora. "I bought you guys some presents." And Sora handed them out to his friends. A chocobo plushie for Aerith, a ninja star necklace for Yuffie, a new bandana for Cid and a leather wristband for Leon, embroidered with a silver 'L'. Leon took the gift with a forced smile. "I... uh… I'm sorry Riku. I didn't get you anything… I didn't know you'd be here…" Riku took the boy's hand.

"Don't be silly. Seeing you again is enough." Aerith and Yuffie exchanged knowing looks. Sora smiled – clueless as always.

"Well," announced Leon. "I think it's time we all headed off for the night. Sora, I'll show you to your room."

"He has a room?" Yuffie inquired.

"Well uh, yeah, I mean, there's that cupboard thing…"

"No! Yuffie exclaimed. That's the storage area you meany!"

"Yeah but, there's no more room in the house unless…"

"Unless you take the sofa! How generous of you Leon. Sora can share with his best friend Riku and catch up on old times!" Aerith giggled at Yuffie's lack of subtlety, but nobody else other than Leon had seemed to notice. Cid was arranging his bandana, Sora was beaming and Riku looked as though he had just found a way out of Kingdom Hearts… Which, in a way, he had.

* * *

"Sora, you're hogging the duvet," Riku complained, though, it was more for show than anything. Being that close to Sora again, well, he wouldn't have cared if he was lying on a bed of nails with nothing to keep him warm but a paopu petal.

"Sorry Riku," and Sora shuffled so that the duvet moved back to Riku's side of the bed. "I'm so glad I found you again. I mean, after Kairi left I… Well yeah, that doesn't matter now."

"She was a bitch Sora. I never liked her." Sora smiled.

"I know. I should have listened to you in the first place… But I guess that's how you learn… You have to make mistakes…"

"Yeah, of course you do."

"How about you, Riku? Have you made any… mistakes?"

"You mean like… lovers?"

"Yeah, I mean… Do you have a girlfriend?" Riku blushed.

"Well, uhm… The thing is, Sora… I'm not really…" he hesitated.

"Not really what? It's okay, you can tell me. I'm your best friend!" Riku smiled.

"I'm not really into… uhm… girls." Sora processed this information for a moment.

"Into girls how exac… Oh! Oh, I uhm… Ah, yes…" Sora blushed.

"That doesn't freak you out, does it?"

"Oh no! No, I just uhm… It's a surprise, that's all. I mean, you're so… manly." Riku laughed.

"Manly men can be gay too, you know!" Sora flinched at the word. Riku noticed. "Sora, are you _sure _you're okay with this?"

"Oh, I am, I swear. It's just… Kairi always had this massive problem with… with gay people and…"

"You're not Kairi."

"No… thank god. No, I'm super happy for you Riku. Do you have a boyfriend?" Sora playfully poked his friend in the side.

"Ow! Give over! And uhm, no," he lied.

"Aw, well it must be hard. I mean, maths-wise. More straight women than there are gay men… right?"

"Right," Riku replied, failing to hide the bitterness in his voice.

"But… I'm sure there's one out there for you. Like a really special one. I used to believe that there was one perfect person for everybody."

"And you don't anymore?" Riku asked.

"I don't know…" Sora looked away. "I thought I'd found her." Riku gently put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"She messed you up, Sora. You need to forget about her."

"Yeah," he responded quietly. "I just wish I knew how."

"Well… here's a start," and Riku grabbed the nearest pillow and hurled it at his friend. Sora looked momentarily affronted, before picking up his own pillow and whacking Riku squarely in the face with it. They descended into hysterical laughter as feathers flew haphazardly around them. And in that moment, the only feeling they knew was pure, unrestrained joy.


	4. Chapter Four

Extra special moogle-covered thanks to sea of darkness sea of light (it wouldn't let me put the full stops in for some reason - it kept deleting it all when I did) for being awesome and making my day with a shiny review! (Also for the favourite and the author alert! My first ones - SO much gratitude!) AND to Jordandear for adding this to her alerts! (Also for being a co-aficionado of good grammar!) AND xigbar-aram for the much appreciated alert and favourite. AND last but by no means least, to my home girl Lillyankh, for being moogle-tastic in every way! And being the one to get me into Kingdom Hearts in the first place! Oh, I am a very happy moogle!

Now on with the story, which, yes, I will now most definitely be continuing!

Love to all,

Neverose.

* * *

Chapter Four

_Riku grabbed the nearest pillow and hurled it at his friend. Sora looked momentarily affronted, before picking up his own pillow and whacking Riku squarely in the face with it. They descended into hysterical laughter as feathers flew haphazardly around them. And in that moment, the only feeling they knew was pure, unrestrained joy._

-x-

Riku awoke to hear loud banging on the window. He looked over at Sora to see him sound asleep and snoring loudly.

"That boy will sleep through anything…" he muttered to himself, as he slowly got out of bed to see what all the noise was about. Approaching the window, the outline of a man came into view. On closer inspection, he could see that it was Leon. Riku was less than amused. He opened the window angrily and demanded, "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Leon looked coldly at Riku and said,

"I might ask you the same question. Sharing a bed with another man whilst your other half sleeps on the sofa?" Coolly, Riku dismissed him,

"You're not my other half. It's just a casual thing, remember?" Leon clearly did not remember this, and his icy exterior was broken. A solitary tear escaped his eye, followed by a reactionary blush at the display of emotion. Quickly, he slammed the window in Riku's face before running off. The sound of glass against face at a hundred miles per hour caused Sora to wake up with a start,

"Moogles!?" he yelled, looking around in bewildered panic. Riku rushed to his side, still nursing his bruised cheekbone.

"What about moogles?" he asked with concern.

"They stole my munny," Sora replied sleepily. Riku chuckled, but stopped abruptly when the younger boy's hand made contact with his cheek. "What happened?" Sora asked as he inspected Riku's fresh bruise.

"Oh, it was nothing. I uhm… walked into a door."

"A door?"

"Yeah. A door." Sora looked at him for a moment, unsure as to whether or not he was telling the truth, but for once, he was tactful enough to know not to push the matter further. Clambering out of bed he remarked,

"You should get some ice or something. It looks pretty red."

"I'm fine," Riku dismissed. Sora smiled.

"You always were defensive about getting injured. Do you remember that time you tripped over a rock when you were seven? Your face was bleeding and everything and you just kept saying 'I'm fine, I'm fine! It's just a scratch!'." Riku did remember and laughed at the recollection.

"Yeah, well, I guess some things never change." They looked at each other for a moment. And for a second – just a second – Riku thought that he saw-

"RIKU!" Yuffie's timing, as per usual, could not have been worse. Both boys simultaneously rushed towards the window. "Get out here now, we need you! We're having an… erm… issue." Riku looked confused but quickly got dressed and headed out the door, with Sora close behind.

* * *

"Just look at this," stormed Yuffie. "You had _one _job to do and _look _at it!" Riku looked up at the roof he had so perfectly positioned yesterday afternoon. It was teetering dangerously askew, and threatening to collapse at any moment – taking the adjacent houses with it. Riku was flummoxed – how could this have happened? Then he realised. _Leon._

"Be right back," he growled. Yuffie and Sora exchanged a worried look, as Riku stormed off in the direction of the lake.

"Leon! Where the fuck are you?" Riku paced the shore, convinced that he would be somewhere close by. Leon spent a lot of time at the lake, staring into the glistening water. Some thought that there was a deep, underlying reason. Riku just thought he liked the sparkles, but wouldn't dare say that to Leon the leather-clad macho. It would only result in even more facial bruising. "Leon," he roared.

"Over here dumbass," came a voice from a nearby rock. Riku walked over to see Leon's shoes sticking out from behind a large group of boulders.

"The roof – why the fuck did you do that?" Riku was fuming.

"There are two answers to every question," he replied casually. Riku looked confused.

"What..? What do you mean 'there are…?"

"I mean," Leon interrupted, "that there are two answers to every question. Like that stupid existential question everyone always asks – 'if you could have a day in heaven or a lifetime on earth, which would you choose?'" Riku looked even more confused. "Well?" Leon prompted, clearly waiting for an answer.

"Well, surely there's only one answer… heaven," Riku replied. Leon smiled.

"People say that – people who have never _been _to heaven."

"And you have?"

"Yes," Leon replied, staring into the water. "But people forget. After your day in heaven, you don't just die, and die happy, with your last memories filled with light. No." Riku was getting frustrated now. What this had to do with the roof he had no idea.

"Okay," he said tersely, "where do you go then? After you've been to heaven?"

"Well," replied Leon. "If you lose it. Then you have to spend the rest of your life on earth – but it's hell, because you can't forget what it was like to be in heaven. And you can never get it back."

"So… the roof is heaven?" Leon's head snapped up and looked at the younger man with amusement.

"You prat. The roof has nothing to do with this!"

"Then why bring it up?" Riku asked, failing to hide his impatience. Leon looked away, and Riku glimpsed a strand of what looked like a bandage trailing from his hand. "What's that?" he asked. Leon snatched it from sight and stuffed it into his shirt.

"Nothing," he dismissed. Riku turned around to leave. He had had enough. "Wait," Leon called after him. "You could have at least been man enough to tell me. You _should_ have told me."

"Told you _what?_" Riku demanded, now seriously angry. Leon paused for a moment and then turned to look the younger man straight in the eyes.

"That you were in love with him." And Leon's tear-stained face made Riku realise just how much his behaviour had affected him. He was silent for a moment.

"I…"

"No," Leon interjected. "It's too late for that now." And after one last longing look at the man he had come to care for; Leon turned his back and walked away.

* * *

Riku skulked back to the site in silence, wracked by guilt. Leon was right. He had been a coward. He turned a corner and walked straight into a frantic Sora.

"Riku! Where _have _you been? I've been worried sick!" Riku raised an eyebrow. Yuffie, who was stood close by, failed to suppress a giggle.

"Well I'm sorry _Mother_ but I had something I had to do." Sora pouted at the accusation.

"Yeah, like fixing a goddamn roof!" Yuffie interjected. Riku gave the woman an apologetic look before making his way to the crane.

"I really was worried you know…" Sora mumbled. "I had a surprise for you and everything." Riku stopped walking and turned to his friend.

"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"Well…" Sora beamed as he prepared to deliver his news. "I've found you a boyfriend!" Riku's heart sank.

"Oh."


	5. Chapter Five

Many thanks to Ola-May for adding this to her alerts, to my wonderfully loyal reviewer sea of darkness sea of light and to Jordandear (Jojo) for a lovely day-making review and a useful critique! Many, many thanks, you are my reason for continuing.

And there is a slight sexual warning for this chapter… But only a very, very slight one. I do apologise, as I know that many people – including my younger self – are fans of yaoi. But since realising that men are simply not for me, I can't write it! I tried – I was going to write a full-on sexcapade! But I got there, tried it, and it felt a bit… Well, I couldn't do it like I used to and it wasn't quite as fun either, so there will only be a little description and I am sorry if that disappoints anyone! I will try again in later chapters though as I think it may be necessary and if anyone is feeling cheated then let me know and I will look at my old fics and re-train myself!

Love to all,

Neverose.

* * *

Chapter Five

_"I really was worried you know…" Sora mumbled. "I had a surprise for you and everything." Riku stopped walking and turned to his friend._

_"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"_

_"Well…" Sora beamed as he prepared to deliver his news. "I've found you a boyfriend!" Riku's heart sank._

_"Oh."_

_

* * *

_Yuffie was looking worried even before Riku's sad response. Sora had found him a _boyfriend_! Oh, no, this wasn't right. This wasn't right at all.

"Aren't you excited, Riku?" Sora asked, disappointed.

"Yeah… I mean, yeah, of course I am… I just uhm… You know, I'm not ready and uhm…"

"Oh don't be silly! He's super hot. Like, _super _hot." Riku raised an eyebrow and Sora blushed. "Not that like… Not that _I _think he's hot… I was just looking for you, ya know?"

"Yeah… sure." Riku chuckled. Sora glared.

"I was _trying _to do you a favour! But fine, you don't want him? I'll give him to uhm… uhm… Aerith!"

"I thought you said he was gay?"

"Yes well… you were mean," and Sora strode off, leaving Riku and Yuffie giggling behind him.

"What an idiot," Riku laughed.

"Yeah," replied Yuffie. "He _is _an idiot. An idiot to _still _not realise that you're in love with him." Riku gasped and stared at her in stunned silence. Yuffie gave him a sarcastic look before continuing, "Oh come _on!_ I mean seriously?" Riku blushed. "Awww," Yuffie skipped over to him. "But it's so _cute!_" and she kissed him on the cheek and skipped away.

"Women," Riku muttered to himself. He would never understand them.

* * *

From his seat high up in the crane, as he was re-positioning the roof from the day before, Riku spotted an unfamiliar man walking towards Sora. They shook hands, somewhat awkwardly, and Sora pointed towards the crane – straight up at Riku. He looked away hurriedly. Oh god, this must be the man that Sora had found for him… Though… He wasn't lying, Riku thought. He _was _very attractive. He stole another brief glance down at the man. He had hair similar to Sora's, only blonde. He was wearing a red cape that flapped in the wind, and a leather jacket and trousers similar to Leon's, only with more spikes. Riku was tempted, but how could he get into yet another doomed relationship while his heart still belonged to Sora? When he had finished, he clambered down from the crane and went into the house to find the two men having tea.

"Would you like some, Riku?" Sora inquired. "I have Chai" Riku tittered. Sometimes Sora could be so very… well… _gay! _Sora noticed the man's amusement and scowled.

"Oh it's really very good," came a heavy voice from the armchair. "if you like essence of something-or-other in your drink…" Riku walked around to get a better look at the man who was staring into a floral teacup in disgust. He was _beautiful. _Not as beautiful as Sora, Riku thought, but still beautiful. And… dark… Riku was momentarily disarmed. Cloud smirked. "You wanna go get a decent drink? I hear they have beer on this god-forsaken rock?"

Yeah," Riku replied, still less than subtly checking the older man out. "Let's go." The two men left the room exchanging names – Riku was surprised to hear that the seemingly stern man shared a name with the fluffy white inhabitants of the sky – and Sora stayed behind, looking thoroughly proud of himself as the two men left the house together. He looked down at the cup left on the table and sighed.

"He didn't even drink any…" Sora said sadly as he emptied the contents into the sink.

"Didn't drink any _what?_" came a voice from the doorway. Sora looked up to see Aerith standing there. His face brightened,

"Oh Aerith! Would _you _like some Chai tea? It has cinnamon." Aerith giggled for a moment, then saw the hurt look on Sora's face.

"Oh, no, no. I would love some!" she assured. Sora happily poured her a cup.

"Mmm, that's yummy!" Aerith gave Sora a reassuring smile. "Where did you get it?" Sora looked down.

"Oh, just a store back on the island." He had actually got it from Kairi. Well, Kairi's new boyfriend. It was the day she had told Sora about him. Sora had already arranged to see her that day and didn't like breaking arrangements, so had gone as planned. Kairi gave him the tea to try and when he had told her that he liked it, she beamed mischievously and said,

"Aha! Now you like something that _he _likes! This confused Sora. Then it dawned on him. _He _had given her the tea, and she wanted Sora to try it, but before he knew whose it was, so he couldn't say he hated it just because it was _his. _He had paled at the realisation, but tried to dismiss it with a laugh. All of his friends were drinking it too. _He _had all introduced them all to something new. _He _was taking everything Sora loved. _He_ was taking it all away from him, and keeping it for _himself_.

"Sora…? Sora?" Sora's head snapped up to see Aerith looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Are you okay? You sort of went… away." Sora smiled,

"Oh, sorry Aerith, I must have just been daydreaming!" Aerith laughed along with him, but she couldn't mistake the darkness in his eyes. That was not the Sora she used to know. Where had his happiness gone?

* * *

They had consumed over twenty pints between them. They knew this because they had counted the empty glasses in an exercise of pure pride. Feeling rather pleased with themselves, they stumbled out of the bar and towards the hotel where Cloud was staying.

"You… you are really… _interesting…_" Riku slurred. "I mean… Sometimes I think you're bad… but then you show this… this compassion." Cloud shrugged it off.

"It's not compassion. I just try to remember what people have taught me. Good people. People I loved."

"Loved? Past tense?" Riku inquired.

"Well they're not here anymore. So yeah – past tense." Riku looked thoughtful. "Look, let's just forget about all of this emotional stuff. I like a guy who knows how to keep his heart under lock and key." Riku considered this and decided that if he wanted to get laid – which he did – that he had better keep his mouth shut. They walked the rest of the way in silence, finally arriving at 'The Hollow Hotel.'

"Unfortunate name…" Riku muttered. Cloud gave a murmur of agreement before opening the door. As Riku followed the man up the stairs, his body was going through familiar stages. The warm excitement of anticipation followed by the tingling sensation – the awareness of what was about to come. His heart pumped faster with every step and by the time Cloud closed the door behind them he was possessed by lust. He pinned the older man to the door and kissed him passionately, his blood coursing through his veins like fire. They tore at each others clothes as they made their way to the bed, panting in between kisses – gasping for air. Riku noticed a strip of bandage hanging out of Cloud's pocket and felt a stab of déjà-vu, but dismissed it as he felt a hand unzip his trousers. They fell onto the bed in a tangled heap, struggling to find the best position. Cloud pushed the other man onto his back and straddled him, kissing his way down the pale but beautiful body. Riku closed his eyes and imagined Sora's lips. Cloud closed his eyes and imagined someone else's body. Someone older. Someone more tanned. Someone he loved.

* * *

Cloud slowly climbed out of bed and looked out of the window.

"A fuck is a fuck," he thought to himself. "So why is it always… different? Why is it, that with someone, it's like you're being taken to… to heaven. Yet with someone else, it's just sex. Not _bad _sex. Even great sex. But just sex. Not… heaven." He turned around as he heard the younger man shuffle in his sleep, preparing to wake up. He looked at him for a moment, and knew that like himself, Riku's heart belonged to someone else.

"Morning stranger," Riku said through a yawn. Cloud smiled and returned to the bed.

"So was that just the best one-night-stand you've ever had?" He joked.

"Hmmm," Riku considered. "I dunno, I've had some good ones," he replied, smiling as he did so, so that the older man would know he was joking too.

"Hmmm… Well I've had some good ones too. But you were good. You were very good." Riku blushed. "Aww, are you embarrassed?" Cloud ruffled the silver hair and Riku batted his hand away, still blushing. "Or is it that you were thinking of someone else?" Riku's head shot up. "Ah. So you were. Last night?" Riku's head was spinning. Cloud wasn't supposed to know. How could he have known? Oh god… He had said the wrong name… He had said 'Sora'. Oh god… Oh god, oh god, oh god… "Hey, hey," Cloud said soothingly, clearly seeing the other man's distressed expression. "It's cool. It was a one night stand. The whole purpose was to have a good time. If you had to think of someone else to have it, then fair play." Riku still felt guilty. "And besides," Cloud added. "Maybe you weren't the only one." Riku looked into the man's blue eyes in curiosity. He could see the darkness of longing, of loneliness, of _him. _Riku didn't know who _he _was exactly, but he knew that he was there. Just like Sora was there in his own eyes.


	6. Chapter Six

Much love to Oreos Are Good for adding this to their alerts and favourites and to Jordandear (Jojo) for her consistently lovely reviews! Also to my loyal reviewer Seaofdarknessseaoflight, who always makes me smile. Finally, of course, to my most beloved Lillyankh for her cuteness, critiques and chocobo-ness. It's a word. I made it for her. And one of my ideas for this chapter came from her clever noggin.

Apologies for taking longer to upload at the moment, but I am in the middle of exams and everything is getting rather busy!

Love to all,

Neverose.

* * *

Chapter Six

_Riku looked into the man's blue eyes in curiosity. He could see the darkness of longing, of loneliness, of him. Riku didn't know who he was exactly, but he knew that he was there. Just like Sora was there in his own eyes._

-x-

Sora heard him before he saw him. The sound of a hung-over Riku was unmistakable. Groaning, followed by crashing, followed by louder groaning. Sora hurried to the kettle to brew the mandatory post-hangover beverage that Riku always needed. Riku turned when he heard the sound of the kettle, rubbing his head from where he had hit it on an overhanging pot.

"You're making my hangover drink?"

"Yep," Sora said proudly. "Impressed I remembered?"

"Hugely," Riku smiled. He was touched.

"So… What happened last night?" Asked Sora with a wink in his eye. Riku's heart sank. He didn't really want to talk about it – especially with Sora. "That bad huh?" Sora asked when he saw the sad look on his friend's face.

"Oh no, uhm… Nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"Nope. Nothing." Riku replied. Sora gave a shrug and continued with the kettle. As he reached for a mug, Yuffie burst in,

"RIKU!"

*CRACK* Sora looked down at the pieces of broken mug before glaring at Yuffie. "Oh, shit, uhm, sorry Sora. But this is important…" Sora was still annoyed. It was his favourite mug. It had a picture of a chocobo on it, holding a bunch of flowers. Riku shuffled over to where Yuffie was standing, sensing that he was in trouble again. "Where's Leon?" She asked tersely.

"Huh?"

"Don't play games with me Riku. You upset him and scared him off."

"Don't be silly," Riku replied. "Leon doesn't get upset. He has no feelings." Yuffie hit him around the head with her nunchaku. "Christ Yuffie! That hurt!"

"Good," she replied. "'Cause you are an idiot!" And she stormed out of the house leaving the two boys looking thoroughly confused. Sora shrugged his shoulders and commented,

"Women… right?" Riku nodded. Still rubbing his head.

* * *

Yuffie spent most of the afternoon looking for Leon. How could Riku have been so dense? Clearly Leon was not made of stone. He just liked to act like it… But Riku shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. But boys will be boys…

"Leon!" Yuffie could see him in the distance, on the edge of a cliff. Oh god, was he going to jump? She sprinted up to see him leaning over the edge. "Leon, please don't" Leon looked around.

"Don't what…?"

"Don't jump!"

"Jump where?" Leon replied, confused. Yuffie seemed terrified. Leon looked back over the edge of the cliff and realised what she was thinking. "Oh… you mean? Oh, no. Don't be a prat. Why would I jump?"

"Because Riku hurt you?"

"Pah! Please. I've been burned worse and I will be again. No, I was just looking at that."

"At _what_?" Yuffie inquired. Leon pointed down to a broad blade stuck into the ground, draped in bandages. "Oh, _that! _Well uhm…" Leon turned to her.

"You _knew _he was here!"

"Uhm… Well…" Yuffie turned red, knowing that whatever she did next would undoubtedly determine whether or not she got dangled over the edge of the cliff by her hair.

"Oh this had better be good Yuffie."

"Well, he uhm… He only came yesterday, when no-one knew where you were and uhm… It was cuz of Sephy… He uhm… Kinda kicked his ass… So uhm, now he's here… For some… Uhm… Chill time?" Yuffie attempted her most innocent expression but the anger in Leon had already faded with a simple word.

"Sephiroth kicked his ass?"

"Yes."

"I _told _him that guy was bad news. Bastard always goes back for more..." Yuffie went to reassure him, but he had already started walking towards the steps that led to the bottom of the cliff.

"Wait!" Yuffie appealed. "He isn't down there!" But it was too late. Leon had disappeared from view.

* * *

Cloud was sitting on the edge of the bed, throwing a bouncy ball against his door and catching it again. He knew he over-analysed things, but he couldn't help it. Why _was _it that this guy – this perfectly wonderful guy – just couldn't make him feel… Riku was great, and gorgeous and kind… But he wasn't… He just wasn't…

"Cloud?" Cloud turned to his window at the noise. It sounded like Sora but what was he doing here? "Cloud, uhm… Mr. Cloud?" Cloud walked over to the window in puzzlement. "Clou… Oh, there you are. I just uhm… I just wondered how things went uhm… you know… last night?" Cloud gave the boy a reproachful look before beckoning him upstairs. As he walked through the door, Cloud's bouncy ball almost hit him in the face. "Eeeek! Careful…" Sora muttered.

"Well if you would come all the way here just for some pseudo-satisfaction, then you're liable to be disappointed." Cloud stated coolly.

"Well," Sora replied, shuffling awkwardly. He didn't know what 'pseudo' meant exactly, or why he would be seeking it, but he decided to ignore it. "I was just wondering why Riku was so grouchy today."

"Ah," understanding dawned on the older man's face. "So you were worried I might have upset your little friend?"

"Little? He's not little… He's much bigger than me…" Sora was clearly missing the point.

"Look," Cloud asserted. "We are both adults and we can both handle ourselves. If Riku's having a problem then he should be man enough to come to me about it and not send his little boy toy in to do his dirty work." Sora looked hurt.

"Boy toy..?" He blushed.

"Yeah, boy toy." Cloud replied, his expression stony. Sora didn't really understand what that meant, but he knew it was offensive. Angrily, he snatched Cloud's bouncy ball from him and stormed off. Cloud watched the boy leaving and muttered to himself,

"He has _no _idea…"

* * *

Aerith was out in the garden when she heard the sound of crying. She walked towards the noise to find Sora sobbing on a rock, bouncing a ball against the hard earth. She put her arm around him and handed him a daisy. Sora giggled.

"I'm sorry Aerith, I just uhm…"

"It's okay. Tell me what happened?" Sora looked overwhelmed. There was so much to tell. And it was hard. He always portrayed this image of frivolity and innocence, but deep down he was hurting. For so long he couldn't remember. It was easy to hide behind his immaturity when there were others there, but when he was alone he felt like the oldest man in the world for all of the emotions he was feeling. Aerith could see the darkness in his eyes again and felt concern for the boy. It wasn't like him to be down like this.

"It's just… The thing that happened with Kairi. It still hurts. Everyday. And no matter how hard I try to do good things, and make things better, they just get worse… And I feel so trapped here. Trapped in myself. Like wherever I go and however far I run, I will never get away from longing, from loneliness… From _her._" Aerith gave him a pitying look.

"She hurt you, Sora. You deserve someone who will give every ounce of their love to you. Every fragment of their soul and every piece of their heart." Sora sniffed and said,

"But, I gave that to Kairi. And she didn't give it back. Who would ever give something like that… to me?" Aerith gave him a spine-breaking hug and replied,

"Sora! You are so blind to your own light! You are the sweetest, strongest and most wonderful boy I have ever known. And I'm not the only one who thinks that." Sora smiled at her and blushed.

"Thank you," he mumbled. Aerith gave him a look as if to say 'take the compliment!' He smiled wider and she gave him another daisy. Sora loved flowers, despite his hayfever. He thought that if something was pretty enough, the sneezing that came with it would be worth it. It was then he decided to make something for Riku, to help him feel better. He had just started to assemble some more daisies when Leon came striding over.

"Hey, uhm, Sora. Have you seen uhm… A blonde guy? About Riku's height… Kind of… moody?" Sora thought for a minute.

"Oh, you must mean Cloud!" Leon's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, well, he went out with Riku last night, and then Riku came home all grumpy, and now Cloud's bouncing a ball in his hotel… Or at least he was… I sort of stole it." Leon looked confused. Sora tried to explain,

"Here, see?" He held up the shiny red ball for inspection. Leon was still confused.

"Riku…? He went on a date with _Riku?" _Sora nodded. Leon turned to walk away.

"Do you know Cloud, then?" Sora asked. Leon looked down and whispered,

"Intimately."


	7. Chapter Seven

Many, many thanks to my Lillyankh as always and Jordandear The Marvellous for the reviews! *hands pom-poms* Also to moonlight2356 for adding this to their favourites and to LiteraryMirage and Blackmorning for adding this to their alerts – I love you all!

Sorry it has been so long but the stress of exams and ex-girlfriends has been weighing me down a bit. Personally I think that all things beginning with 'ex' should be banned.

But fanfiction helps, so on with the story!

Neverose.

* * *

Chapter Seven

"_Riku…? He went on a date with Riku?" Sora nodded. Leon turned to walk away._

"_Do you know Cloud, then?" Sora asked. Leon looked down and whispered,_

"_Intimately."_

* * *

Sora was annoyed. He was sick and tired of guys being mysterious and pissy around him. First Riku, then Cloud and now Leon! And to top it all off, he had received a postcard from Kairi. There was a photo of her and her new… At the Summer House. She hadn't taken him there until they'd been together for nearly two years but he was there _already?_ It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. He sulked back towards the house in a depression-induced trance, as was his usual state of late. He thought back to the night he and Kairi had spent at the Summer House under the stars together. He saw his first shooting star that night. It was perfect. One of the most perfect nights of his entire life, snuggled in a hammock and listening to the ocean. Until the next morning, when she had one of her hissy fits again as Sora was being 'too immature'. Kairi always hated the childlike part of his personality. She wanted a man – not a boy. But Sora couldn't suppress it all of the time. He tried. But not…

"Sora? Sora, are you ignoring me?" Sora looked around to see Yuffie right behind him.

"Christ Yuffie, you made me jump!"

"I've been calling you for ages… Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm okay." He hastily wiped away any traces of sadness from his face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I just said I'm fine, okay?"

"But you were crying…?" Sora was getting agitated now. He didn't want to think about it and he certainly didn't want to talk about it. "Please, Sora. If you need to talk–"

"Just shut the fuck up Yuffie!" Yuffie's reassuring smile vanished. She was in shock. Sora had never expressed such anger before… And almost unprovoked. What was happening to him?

* * *

Sora froze, in disbelief of what he had just said. Why had he lost it like that? It was so unlike him. But it had been happening more and more lately. He could feel the darkness inside his heart growing stronger. He blamed Kairi. But knew that it was him and only him who was letting the darkness spread. Because he was sick of fighting it. Because he had nothing and no-one to dispel it for. He wanted it to take him over. He wanted to be controlled again. And Kairi and the darkness were not so different.

* * *

Leon entered The Hollow Hotel filled with anticipation. Was he here? Would he see him again after all this time? The man he loved…

"Squall?" Leon turned around abruptly. Nobody had called him by that name in years… Cloud gazed at him longingly as he tried to adjust to what he was seeing. Cloud had grown since he had last seen him and gained a few more battle scars. But he was still… _beautiful_. "Squall? Are you okay?" Leon snapped out of his daze and fixed the man with a pointed look.

"Where the _hell _have you been?" he demanded.

"_That's _what you say to me? That's what you say to me after all this time?" Cloud roared. They were both fuming.

"Well what was I supposed to think? You go charging off after… _him_," Cloud looked momentarily affronted before regaining his deadpan expression. "And you never spare a thought for… for me."

"Since when have you gotten all… emotional?" Cloud asked, intrigued by Leon's unusual behaviour.

"It's not my fault," he protested. "I live with two women, a gay guy and Sora! Oh and Cid, but he's always away with the moogles…" Cloud looked confused. Leon shrugged. Then, like lightening, the two men embraced each other in a passionate kiss. It was as though they were making up for every second they had spent apart and every second yet to come. They clung to each other as if the world was collapsing around them and all they had to hold onto was each other. When they finally broke off, gasping for breath, they held each other's gaze.

"I missed you," Leon whispered. Cloud playfully punched him on the shoulder and retorted,

"Don't get mushy, it doesn't suit you." Leon snorted and followed the man upstairs to his room like nothing had changed. And for the first time in months, he smiled.

* * *

Sora spent a long time looking at the photo of Kairi and her new boyfriend. She meant well. She was worried about him and wanted to see how he was. But just thinking about thinking about them… It destroyed him. And to be confronted with an image of them together… In a place that… It was too much. Sora had never felt this way before and he couldn't handle it. He needed somebody. Anybody. But Riku was off doing… something. Either with or without Cloud… And Leon was off looking for Cloud and Aerith was too nice to trouble with his sadness and Yuffie probably never wanted to speak to him again. He felt as though he was falling. Falling into the darkness. Alone and unwanted by the one person he just wanted to be happy. But he couldn't make her happy. This new guy… He could. In just two months, apparently. No, he couldn't do it, he had to leave. Again. Go somewhere isolated. With no other people. He went home to start packing his bags but collapsed before he had gotten very far. He sat in a crumpled heap upon the floor, sobbing into his shirt. He didn't look up as Riku entered the bedroom, but kept his head buried thoroughly in his arms. Riku sat down beside the boy.

"I heard about what happened with Yuffie… Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Sora scoffed, "I'm a monster." Riku put a reassuring arm around his shoulders,

"No, no you're not a monster Sora. You could never be a monster. You're just hurting."

"I'm so sick of hurting. I'm so sick of waking up everyday in pain and remembering all of the little things she did that tore my world apart. Did you know that she was seeing him for six months before she left me?" Riku shook his head. "And when she first started talking to him, she was saying how she was trying to be honest with him, and tell him everything about her life. How could she say that to my face? When she was never honest with me. At the start, she lied about everything. She lied about wanting me, loving me and lied about all the other boys she was…" Sora broke off abruptly, unable to continue. Riku pulled the man into an embrace. "It's just stupid pointless little things that seem like the biggest things in the world…" he mumbled.

"I know," Riku reassured. "Heartbreak is the most painful thing a person can go through… In whatever form it may take." Sora hadn't missed the pain in Riku's voice.

"You… you've had your heart broken, Riku?"

"Of course, everyone has."

"Who broke your heart?" Sora asked. Riku looked down. Should he say it? Should he risk it? What would he say? How would he react? After all this time and all this pain, there was only one way to find out for certain. Riku took a shaky breath and replied,

"You."


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Many chocolate-covered thanks to Ola-May, Lillyankh and XxLittlexDevil for their wonderous reviews (and 'lol' at Lillyankh's). Thanks also to The Neutral Warrior, BDM and make1993 for adding this to their favourites! It really does make my day, everytime! *gives you all Moogle cookies*

There are spoilers in this if you haven't finished KH2. So if you haven't; firstly – why not! Though I can't really talk as I was a little late on the bandwagon… But secondly – don't sue me, I warned you!

Love and stuff,

Neverose.

P.S. If you have time, please check out my oneshot – it stems from sleep deprivation and an all-nighter KH2 session so is not meant to be taken hugely seriously. Read for some light relief!

P.P.S. I heart you Lillyankh! Their love IS so pure! And seriously, people, go read her stuff. She is the shiz.

* * *

_"Who broke your heart?" Sora asked. Riku looked down. Should he say it? Should he risk it? What would he say? How would he react? After all this time and all this pain, there was only one way to find out for certain. Riku took a shaky breath and replied,_

_"You."_

* * *

Sora looked blank for a moment as he processed the information his best friend had just given him. _He – Sora – _had broken his friend's heart?

"You mean…" Sora started, "you mean like, in a friendly way?" Riku raised an eyebrow and softly replied,

"No." Sora's heart froze. But no – it wasn't frozen – it was beating at twelve times its normal speed. He had so many questions. He didn't understand.

"But… Riku… I'm not… I'm not…"

"How do you know?" Riku interrupted.

"How do I know _what?" _Sora asked, exasperated. He hated it when Riku confused him by knowing things that he himself did not.

"That you're not gay," Riku stated coolly.

"But how did you know that was what I was going to say...?" Sora whimpered. Riku wanted more than anything to just reach out to the boy and place a comforting arm around his shoulder. To pull him into a gentle yet passionate kiss. But he couldn't. He knew that he couldn't. Riku inhaled sharply. This was it. This was the moment he was finally going to be rejected by the love of his life. Sora examined the older man for a few moments. "You think I'm gay?" he inquired.

"There were moments," Riku admitted.

"Such as?" Sora asked, blushing at the suggestion. Riku looked down at his feet. He didn't want to bring this up. Not the most perfect and most wonderful moment of his life. Not at the risk of it being shattered by some excuse or claim that it was only brought about through madness or sleep deprivation. "Well?" Sora prompted. Riku sighed.

"Do you remember… when you found me again? After… After I was locked away in The World of Darkness. After Castle Oblivion, after you defeated Xigbar?" Sora looked up. Of course he remembered. He had been overcome with emotion to discover that Riku was safe and by his side once more. As soon as he realised that it was Riku standing before him again, he ran over to his friend and sank to his knees in hysterical tears. He had never felt anything like that before. Never. Not even when he saw Kairi again.

"Yes." Sora whispered. He was almost crying simply thinking about it. He raised his head to meet the eyes of his closest friend and was lost in the sea of turquoise green contained within them. Riku was breathing rapidly, unable to suppress his own emotions brought about by revisiting that wonderful memory. As Sora stared into his eyes, almost sobbing, he felt an overpowering urge to kiss him. His eyes flittered to his best friend's mouth. Sora turned a visible shade of red but didn't turn away. He didn't turn away. Riku was shaking as he raised his hand to meet the younger man's cheek. Slowly, very slowly, he moved his face towards his friend's. Sora blushed brighter but stayed gazing into his friend's eyes. He didn't want to move. When he had looked into Riku's eyes he had seen something that he never once saw in Kairi's. Pure, unconditional love. Deep down, he should have known it all along. But he hadn't. But it didn't matter now. Now, Riku was here, kissing him… Riku was kissing him! As the older man's lips met his, Sora felt a tingling heat spreading throughout his body, starting from his toes. He was overcome. Riku felt his heart swell to a thousand times its normal size as he lived the moment he had always dreamt of. It was perfect. Perfect until…

"Sora!" As Yuffie burst into the room, the two boys leapt apart as though they had been struck by a bolt of lightening. Yuffie's expression fell as she realised what she had interrupted. "Oh, shit…" she exhaled. Riku's expression could have killed kittens.

"Yeah, shit," he scoffed. Yuffie gave an apologetic expression and started backing out of the room. Sora – still glowing red – stood up.

"No, please. Nothing uhm… Nothing was happening. We were just talking. What did you want to say?" As Riku's expression turned from anger to hurt, Yuffie winced. She had just annihilated possibly the best moment in the young man's life and all for what? To tell him about someone else's…

"I uhm…" she began. "Basically, Cloud and Leon are back together and it's uhm. Well, it's great. So uhm, that was it… I was excited… Sorry." The two boys looked at her helplessly. Sora was red, Riku was white and Yuffie was turning a pale shade of green… After a few moments of painful silence, she apologised several more times and left the room with her head in her hands. Riku turned to the younger man.

"_Nothing happened?" _He imitated, accusingly. Sora looked down and mumbled,

"Well… It's just… I got lost in the moment and… When Yuffie came in it was like reality hit me and… We can't…" Sora trailed off, pain filling his voice.

"I'm sorry?" Riku asked quietly, "We can't _what _exactly? Kiss each other? Be together? Be _happy?" _Riku was failing to hide the hurt in his words and Sora knew it. He had broken his friend's heart… Again.

* * *

Aerith was attempting to hide her curious glances towards the newly reunited pair. She was not, however, the only one. Cloud and Leon were attracting a fair amount of attention at the local tavern and Cid was the first to comment.

"So, Leon. You gonna introduce us to your new boy-toy or what?"

Cloud turned to look at the blonde man behind them and replied gruffly,

"I'm _not _his boy-toy."

Cid shrugged and said,

"Makes no difference to me. So long as you make him cheerier than the other one did."

Cloud raised a curious eyebrow. Leon replied hastily,

"It was just a casual thing… Nothing serious. And yeah," he addressed Cid, "Cloud makes me much happier." He smiled and kissed his spiky-haired companion, who looked embarrassed. He had never been a public-displays-of-affection kind of guy. Riku chose that moment to walk in. He looked at the kissing couple, who looked back at him, curiously. He was paler than usual and as he saw them, his expression stiffened.

"_Wonderful," _Riku thought to himself. _"The guy of my dreams rejects me and now my back-ups have paired off."_

"Uhm… hey Riku… I hear you've met Cloud." Leon greeted the man, awkwardly. Riku simply turned away and whispered,

"Fuck this. I'm gone."

* * *

Yuffie tiptoed into Sora's room. She found him sobbing on the bed. She sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Sora… I… I'm so sorry."

Sora sniffed and stammered,

"N-no… It…-hic-…it wasn't your fault." His words were interspersed with hiccoughs and his eyes were red. Yuffie was breaking under the guilt and almost started crying herself.

"Sora… What happened? Was it because of me?"

Sora sniffed and rubbed his nose with his sleeve. Yuffie handed him a tissue and he used it to dry his eyes.

"No, Yuffie. It wasn't you… It was me." Sora paused and looked at his friend. She simply looked at him sadly, urging him to continue. "I… I told him that we couldn't… that we just couldn't."

Yuffie shook her head.

"But _why, _Sora? Why can't you?"

Sora sighed.

"I don't know… I just. It's too much… Kairi…"

"_KAIRI!" _Yuffie jumped up from her seat and almost spat the girl's name. "Sora, no. She was so awful to you – she ruined so much of your life and now you're letting her do it now – even though she's gone!"

Sora just looked down and tried to ignore Yuffie's exasperated expression. He remembered all the times he had spent with Riku. Riku had never wanted anything more of him or asked him to change like Kairi had. He looked out of the window and sighed. As Yuffie sat down again, he turned to her and said,

"At the end of everything, when we sat on the beach together, Riku told me that the greatest quality he had was having me for a friend. In that moment, I… I just felt like… Like in the whole world – in all of the worlds – it was just Riku and I, and that it would stay that way forever. I wanted it to… I was… I was almost disappointed when we had to leave to see Kairi and the others. I have never felt like I did on the beach again. Well… Not until about half an hour ago…"

Yuffie couldn't help it. She burst into tears.

"Sora… Sora, oh Sora you've _got to _tell him how you feel. Please?"

Sora looked away,

"But I don't know how I feel, Yuffie."

She looked piteously at the boy,

"But you do, Sora. You just don't know how to put it into words."

Sora considered this for a moment.

"I suppose… I suppose the only reason I'm denying it is because… Because I never really thought about it before… I mean… I just thought that Kairi was the one, but… But she made me _miserable_."

Yuffie's eyes brightened as Sora finally seemed to be seeing sense. "And Riku… Oh, no-one makes me happier than Riku."

"Exactly, Sora, exactly!"

"So… does that mean…?" Sora struggled for a moment. He seemed to be having some sort of internal moral dilemma. "When we defeated Xemnas… I… We… We put our hands together, and our keyblades, they did this weird morphing-together thing and… it was like there was this energy coming from my heart. It was like… No, it's stupid…" Sora looked away but Yuffie placed a comforting hand on his arm, reassuring him. "It was like we… defeated him with the power of love or something."

Yuffie's eyes brightened again and she knocked the wind out of Sora with a spine-breaking hug.

"Sora, you are precious. And you need to tell Riku that you're at least… I don't know… Thinking about…"

"Loving him?" Sora offered. Yuffie was surprised by the boy's sudden assertiveness.

"Well, yeah, that's a start!" she giggled. Sora looked out of the window once more and remembered how it had felt when Riku had kissed him. As though all of the hearts in Kingdom Hearts were pumping inside of him, as though all of the brightness within the Realm of Light was shining out of him and as though something, that was wrong for so very, very long, had suddenly been made right… He felt that somewhere, a door was finally opening. A door that he had been looking for, for his entire life.

"I think," Sora began, "I think that I'm in love with Riku."


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Many moogle-covered thanks to phantombullets240, EmoArtistEmy, Ola-May, and the oh-so-lovely seaofdarknessseaoflight for the fantastic reviews! Also extra thanks to phantombullets240, Tragicallyhopeless, Animefanboi101 and EmoArtistEmy (extra special chocobo-covered thanks to you for adding me to your favourites!) for the favourites and alerts! You all rock!

Love and stuff,

Neverose.

P.S. Thank you to Verovex and Katana Black for reviewing my odd little oneshot! Which, if you have the time, can be read for some light relief. Tis meant to amuse!

P.P.S. Holy hell, I know it's been a very long time, but my real-life Kairi came back to wreak havoc upon my mortal existence and I have only just finished picking up the pieces. I sincerely hope that once I've finished this chapter and uploaded it, that I still have some readers! Am struggling a bit with lack of inspiration at the moment so I hope this meets expectations. The next chapter should be extra exciting - this one is building to it.

P.P.P.S. I love Lillyankh more and more with every bonfire, gaming session and hug.

* * *

_Sora looked out of the window once more and remembered how it had felt when Riku had kissed him. As though all of the hearts in Kingdom Hearts were pumping inside of him, as though all of the brightness within the Realm of Light was shining out of him and as though something, that was wrong for so very, very long, had suddenly been made right… He felt that somewhere, a door was finally opening. A door that he had been looking for, for his entire life._

"_I think," Sora began, "I think that I'm in love with Riku."_

* * *

Riku was packing. He couldn't take it. The best moment of his entire life followed by the worst. How could Sora just deny him like that? He'd been holding a torch for the boy his entire life. As Riku threw his last pair of jeans into his case, Aerith burst in.

"Riku, what are you doing?" she said, surprised as she saw the hurried packing.

"Leaving," he muttered gruffly.

"But… what? Why? Because of Cloud and Leon?"

"No," he retorted angrily, "because of_ Sora_." Just saying the name made him tense. But only on the inside. He would never let it show. He'd become an expert at hiding his emotions after all these years. Aerith lowered her glance in pity.

"Oh," she answered, quietly.

"Yeah, _oh._"

"So," she began, "you told him how you felt and… and he didn't reciprocate?" Riku paused at Aerith's question.

"Well no…" he started. "It was more what happened after that… I mean… at first he uhm, _reciprocated_, in a way… That is… we kissed…" Aerith's eyes lit up,

"Oh _Riku!_ That's so wonderful! But then… wait, _why _are you going?"

"Because," fumed Riku. "Because…" he trailed off. Sure, Sora had denied it when Yuffie came in, but he had never been with a man before, of course he was going to be scared. After a while he would have to adjust and… What _was _he doing? Leaving just after the man he'd loved his whole life had kissed him – how _could _he? "Aerith," Riku stopped packing to address the woman. "I've been an idiot." Aerith nodded. "Let's go find Sora."

* * *

"Eeeeeeee!" Yuffie's squeals could wake villages, hell, Sora thought, they could wake _worlds_. "Oh, Sora! That's so wonderful! You and Riku! Riku and _you!_ Oh, it's what romance has been waiting for!" Sora was nervous. The last time romance was in his life it had kicked him in the balls… repeatedly. Yuffie noticed his hesitation. "I'm sorry," she stammered, "I was getting carried away… I know you were hurt before, but Riku would never hurt you." That was it, Sora thought. All of the promises he made to himself to never fall in love again were shattered by this one simple truth. Riku would _never _hurt him. Not intentionally, at least. He smiled at the now calmer girl and said,

"You're right Yuffie. Riku… Riku loves me. Wow, that feels weird to say…"

"Well it sounds wonderful," she interjected. Sora's brain was in overdrive imagining all of the fantasies he now had a chance to fulfil – someone who cared about him enough to kiss him when he was ill, even if it meant them getting ill too; someone to surprise him at work with a picnic; someone to hold onto all night even if they got a dead arm in the morning. Someone who didn't need him to change, but loved him for who he was. Could Riku be that person? "Sora, I know it's weird, but trust me, you'll get used to it. I know you've never been with a guy before but-"

"I've liked guys before," Sora interrupted. Yuffie was surprised. "I've known for a while… I'm just… not used to actually acting on it," he laughed weakly. Yuffie gave him a comforting look and said,

"Well get used to it. Because we're off to go and find your soulmate."

* * *

The usually quiet tavern had gained an altogether uneasy atmosphere upon the arrival of an angry brunette. Said brunette appeared to be directing her anger at a certain spiky-haired blonde and his leather-clad companion.

"What the _hell _is going on out here?" Cid demanded, storming out from behind the bar to investigate the raised voices.

"Nothing," Cloud dismissed firmly, but was interrupted by the brunette,

"Oh, _I'll _tell you what's going on," she spat, "this _bastard_ went out to get some milk and never came back. Then I spent three whole years tracking him down – only to discover that he'd turned fucking _gay_ – during which time I was nearly killed by some tall, dark and creepy guy with a grudge!" Cloud snorted.

"Well if you hadn't been such an annoying bitch maybe he wouldn't have left?" Leon offered, earning him a cigarette packet to the head.

"Cut it out, Tifa," demanded Cloud as he felt the beginnings of anger. It was one thing to lash out at him but to involve Leon was unnecessary. At that moment, Sora and Yuffie walked in. Tifa turned around,

"Oh hi there, I'm Cloud's ex, please feel free to enjoy the show. Unless of course," she motioned at Sora, "you're screwing him too?" Sora turned red – he was not used to being asked such personal questions. "Oh so you _are?" _inquired Tifa, loud enough for the whole tavern to hear.

"That's it, you and I are taking a walk," Cloud stood up, grabbed Tifa by the wrist and took her out of the tavern. Sora and Yuffie took up their places at the bar either side of Leon. Sora looked into his bag in order to find something to distract himself with whilst he waited for Riku. After a few seconds, he produced two silver knitting needles and a mass of pink fluff. Leon attempted to suppress his laughter as Yuffie raised an eyebrow and said,

"Not gay, huh?" Sora turned a brighter shade of red and carried on knitting. She did though, he thought, have a point.

* * *

Cloud quickly dove to avoid another flying chair aimed at his head.

"_Christ _Tifa, I know you're pissed but this has got to stop." Cloud laid a cautionary grip on his sword as Tifa reached for an overturned dustbin. The look Cloud subsequently gave her convinced her to change her mind, and instead she simply said,

"So now what?"

"Now nothing," replied Cloud, "we were over a long time ago. You need to leave."

"But I _followed _you."

"And I'm sorry – I'm sorry I left – but you weren't what I wanted. Or what I needed." Tifa looked away. She would be damned if she let anyone see her cry. "I am sorry Tifa." The rare emotion in Cloud's voice made Tifa turn around.

"I… I shouldn't have made a scene."

"You were always good at making scenes," Cloud smirked. Tifa smiled slightly but was still fighting back tears. She had followed this man all over the worlds, only to be rejected. "I'm sorry you came all the way out here, but the answer is no." Cloud's resolution left no room for second chances, and so Tifa made to walk away. "Wait," Cloud reached out to her, "You could at least stay for a drink? Your cleavage would certainly cheer Cid up and he's been having a rough time at the moment. You know, what with all the gay men surrounding him... You two would get on really well on that front." Tifa smiled, but this time, with feeling.

"Okay," she replied, "it sounds like fun."

* * *

Upon entering the tavern, Riku couldn't help but notice the busty brunette, sat on the pool table and swinging her legs. The reason he couldn't help but notice her was the affect she seemed to be having on everyone else. Cloud and Leon were both giving her a wide berth, Aerith and Yuffie were gossiping about her behind their hands and Cid was practically drooling at her feet. The only person who appeared unaffected was Sora, who was sat knitting at the bar. He couldn't help but smile.

"So you're back then, are you?" muttered Leon. Sora's head snapped up to see the man who he had been looking for.

"Riku," he breathed, "I need to talk to you." Riku nodded, held out his hand and replied,

"Come with me."


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Many thanks to Death the Kid16 for adding this to their favourites, to ichigokazuki, ASKInfinity and Zaya81 for adding this to their alerts and special thanks to phantombullets240 for not giving up on me! And of course, love and cuddles as always to my beloved, fellow Southern-speaking, honorary mother, Lillyankh.

A shorter chapter this time, but I've been bombarded by university reading lists and so have little-to-no free time! But hopefully this will tide everyone over. :)

* * *

_Upon entering the tavern, Riku couldn't help but notice the busty brunette, sat on the pool table and swinging her legs. The reason he couldn't help but notice her was the affect she seemed to be having on everyone else. Cloud and Leon were both giving her a wide berth, Aerith and Yuffie were gossiping about her behind their hands and Cid was practically drooling at her feet. The only person who appeared unaffected was Sora, who was sat knitting at the bar. He couldn't help but smile._

"_So you're back then, are you?" muttered Leon. Sora's head snapped up to see the man who he had been looking for._

"_Riku," he breathed, "I need to talk to you." Riku nodded, held out his hand and replied,_

"_Come with me."_

* * *

Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie and Cid all watched with intrigue as the two men left the tavern, hand in hand. Once again, Cid was the first to comment.

"Holy shit… is _every _guy on this world gay?" After receiving several less than approving looks, he quickly amended, "not that I have a problem with it! But you know… I feel like a dying species here…" Shaking his head and mumbling, he slowly retreated behind the bar. With a sly smirk, Tifa hopped off the pool table and followed him. Leon snorted.

"I can't believe you went out with that woman," he muttered. Cloud gave him a look that could stun a chocobo and Leon promptly resumed drinking his beverage. Aerith and Yuffie both shared a look as if to say 'well, he has a point' before commencing a game of pool. But though they all seemed preoccupied; everyone had the same thing on their minds. Everyone wanted to know exactly what was going on between Riku and Sora.

* * *

"Riku… I"

"No, wait," Riku interjected, "I'll go first." Sora fell silent accordingly. "I have loved you from the very first moment I knew what it meant," he began. Sora felt his cheeks flushing pink. Kairi had never said anything like that to him. She would never tell him she loved him for fear of him thinking he had any kind of control. But then, after what Kairi had put him through it had made him never want to love again; Tt drive the keyblade through his heart just to have some physical counterpart to the emotional pain – for a relief. Riku could see that he was drifting off again, as usual. "Sora… this is kind of important…" Sora snapped back into concentration and apologised, motioning Riku to continue. "Uhm, yes," Riku stammered. "Right, yes. I uhm… I'm in love with you. Being with you is the only thing in my life that has ever made sense. It's like a jigsaw puzzle being completed or a promise being kept. It's heaven. But then, whenever you talk about… _her_… it's agony. Sheer, undiluted, heart-wrenching agony. There's physical pain," he grabbed Sora's hand and placed it over his heart, "right here. It actually aches. It feels heavy. It hurts." Sora's eyes grew wide as he felt the speed of his best friend's beating heart. "And I know you know what that feels like." There was no denying the hurt in Riku's words. He knew that Sora felt about Kairi what he felt about him. He had always known.

"But… Riku," Sora whispered, too nervous to make any louder sound, "you make… my life… uhm…" Sora looked at the floor for a moment, attempting to rearrange his words into some sort of coherent order. "Without you, my life has no meaning, no hope and no happiness. When I was away from you, the hope of finding you again kept me going. When I found you I… Well, you know." Riku nodded. The boy's smile when he had been reunited with his older friend again had brought the most unrelenting joy to his young heart. "Riku, I love you too."

* * *

The groans and giggles emerging from the back-room of the tavern left little to the imagination, and so Cloud, Leon, Aerith and Yuffie left their drinks and games of pool to take a walk. At least, that's what they _said _they were doing.

"So…" Yuffie began, "You wanna go spy on them?" The rest of the group gave her a mock-disgusted look. "Oh come _on, _you all want to!" They shrugged their shoulders in pseudo-apathy and began walking over to where they thought the boys would be. Sure enough, as they approached, they heard voices and quickly dove behind a nearby bush.

"You have _got _to be kidding…" muttered Cloud. He didn't care for hide and seek.

"Sshh," Yuffie hissed, "they'll hear you!" Reluctantly, Cloud obliged, and they all strained to hear what was being said.

"Kairi?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes, that's right." Replied a girlish sing-song voice.

"And you're looking for…?"

"Sora."

"Sora?"

"Yes. I need to tell him that I want him back." The four inhabitants of the bush all simultaneously gasped.

"Well I don't much care what you want with him, but if you give me 100 munny I can tell you where he is." Silence followed, during which the onlookers could faintly make out some kind of transaction.

"There," said the sing-song voice. "now tell me where he is." The unfamiliar figure pointed towards Sora and Riku's house, and with a sly smile, Kairi walked off towards it.

"Shiit," exclaimed Yuffie.

"Right," Aerith agreed, "this is bad. We have to do something!"

"Like what?" asked Cloud, failing to hide his apathy.

"Like… stop her!" And Yuffie, with all the stealth of the ninja she was, leapt from the bush and sprinted towards the disappearing girl.

"Man… this is gonna be interesting." Leon's glee was quickly shot down by an angry look from Aerith, who delicately extracted herself from the shrubbery and followed her friend.

* * *

Riku's heart was racing. Had Sora just said that he loved him too, or had he imagined it? Just as he was beginning to doubt his sanity, the young boy spoke again,

"Didn't you hear me, Riku? I l-love you." Sora's stammers were the cutest sound that Riku had ever heard, and he threw his arms around his friend.

"I heard," he whispered, "I just wasn't sure I believed."

"Well believe this," Sora replied, and placed a soft kiss on the man's unsuspecting lips. It was, unfortunately, at that very moment that the sound of screaming could be heard coming from outside. Furious, Riku went to see what was going on.

"If that's Yuffie again…" he muttered angrily.

"OUCH! You _bitch! _Get _off!_" Sora's stomach turned and his heart dropped like a stone as he recognised Kairi's voice.

"No," he exhaled. Riku turned to see Sora's face drain of colour, his body tremble and his knees buckle. He knew that only one other person had this affect on him. _Her._

"Fuck _off_ Kairi. Nobody wants you here – least of all Sora!" Yuffie's screams could be heard for miles around, but no-one was complaining. She was only saying what they were all thinking. All except Sora. He couldn't help it. She had a _hold _over him. A control. He couldn't escape. And this always happened. Anytime she found out that he was with someone else, she'd always come back. Because she only ever wanted him when she couldn't have him. That's all he had ever been to her. A game.

"Sora," Riku whispered, "please don't…" But it was no good. Sora already knew what was going to happen… and yet… with Riku he felt… different. Like he didn't _want _her to take him away again. In that moment, he knew what he needed to do.

"Riku," he said, firmly, "give me your hand."


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Many thanks to Zaya81, Cassandra Incognito, ElleKai15, mikepd, Keirariddle and gbheart for the alerts, to phantombullets240, fireykaigurl, and Totalanimeloverno1 for the much-loved reviews and to DarkMajix for the favourite. You are my reasons for continuing! Mainly because I'm back at uni now and so life is getting hectic! But I do so love escaping to the land of paopus and moogles, so let us continue!

Love and stuff to all. X

P.S. Love you Lillyankh

* * *

_Riku turned to see Sora's face drain of colour, his body tremble and his knees buckle. He knew that only one other person had this affect on him. Her._

"_Fuck off Kairi. Nobody wants you here – least of all Sora!" Yuffie's screams could be heard for miles around, but no-one was complaining. She was only saying what they were all thinking. All except Sora. He couldn't help it. She had a hold over him. A control. He couldn't escape. And this always happened. Anytime she found out that he was with someone else, she'd always come back. Because she only ever wanted him when she couldn't have him. That's all he had ever been to her. A game._

"_Sora," Riku whispered, "please don't…" But it was no good. Sora already knew what was going to happen… and yet… with Riku he felt… different. Like he didn't want her to take him away again. In that moment, he knew what he needed to do._

"_Riku," he said, firmly, "give me your hand."_

* * *

Riku stretched out his hand to his friend just as he had at the very beginning of their dark adventure towards Kingdom Hearts. But this time, Sora took it. Trying hard to block out Kairi's screams, the two men snuck out the back door and away, as quickly as they could. Panting, they came to a stop as they reached the beach.

"She shouldn't find us here," Sora breathed. "We can shelter in this cave," he indicated a gap in the rocks with his free hand and Riku led him to it.

"Sora, I need you to be honest with me," Riku began.

"Of course," Sora replied, "I would never lie to you."

"Good. Well, I just need to know. If, if you're thinking of going back to her… You should go now."

"No." Sora was resolute. "For the first time, I know that she was bad for me. I was sad oh so much more than I was happy. But you always make me happy. And whilst I know that a part of me will always remember her; I think that you could…" he paused, uncertain.

"Yes?" Riku prompted him.

"I think that you could be my one. My _real _one." Sora's eyes flashed as Riku smiled with pure joy. "I mean," he continued, "no-one else can make my heart as bouncy just by smiling at me." Sora's cuteness was just too much for Riku to bear and the older man grabbed him by the arms and pulled him into a desperate embrace.

"You're perfect Sora. You're so perfect." At his emotional words, Sora felt his heart flutter. Was it really possible for anyone to think him perfect? He had never believed so before, but now… it seemed that Riku really meant it. Sensing his thoughts, Riku put a reassuring hand on the boys face and repeated, "You're perfect." Sora smiled, and let his innermost desires take him over as Riku placed a passionate kiss upon his lips.

* * *

Aerith was reluctantly struggling to keep Yuffie from killing the angry redhead. Cloud gave her a look as if to say 'don't bother', whilst Leon sniggered behind his hands.

"Look, ninja bitch, this is none of your business," hissed Kairi.

"Oh yes it is," Yuffie replied, haughtily, "it's damn well my business if you want to make my friends miserable and heartbroken."

"Only one of your friends will be miserable and heartbroken and nobody cares about that moping faggot." A collective gasp rang out at Kairi's final word. Leon immediately stopped laughing and Cloud stepped forwards.

"Take that back," he demanded, coolly. Kairi remained defiantly silent. Cloud asked once more, "take it back." After more silence, Cloud walked over to Aerith and led her away. He then turned and said to Yuffie, "Do whatever you want to her." Yuffie's eyes widened in glee and she turned to face the now frightened girl.

"With pleasure," she replied.

* * *

The sound of the waves crashing upon the shore was all that could be heard as Riku and Sora lay sleeping in each others arms. The light from the sunrise silently crept over their naked bodies and warmed them as they dreamed of the night before. As Riku slowly woke up and remembered where he was, he felt a total sense of peace, and rested his head on his lover's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Sora subconsciously stroked the man's hair and smiled. For the first time in three years; he was free of her. Completely and utterly-

"SORA!" Sora's heart jumped, flipped over and landed with a thud in his ribcage as Kairi's voice carried to where the men lay sleeping.

"Riku," Sora whispered, "Riku, quickly, we've got to hide!" After a moment or two of mild confusion, Riku realised what was going on and – quietly as he could – leapt into action. Putting his clothes on as quickly as possible, his eyes darted frantically around for a place to hide. As Sora did the same, a realisation came upon him. What were they _doing! _Hiding from a little girl with a temper tantrum. After buttoning up his shirt, Sora stepped out from behind the rock and faced his ex-girlfriend. Riku stood and watched, fearfully.

"_There _you are," chorused the girl. "I've been looking for you, baby." She walked up to him and placed a loving hand on his face. Riku recoiled and had to stop himself from interfering. Luckily, Sora did it for him, by taking Kairi's hand and replacing it at her side.

"Kairi, there are some things I need to say to you and I need you to listen," Sora began. Kairi reluctantly nodded. "You never loved me as much as I loved you. When we first got together, you only wanted to corrupt me; you left me multiple times for multiple exes; you cheated on me; you threw things at me; you lied to me, all the time; you hid me from your friends, like I was an embarrassment to you and you never, ever admitted to any of it – you just said that everything was my fault for holding onto you too tight. But tell me, what was it that you did that gave me a reason not to think I needed to try so hard to hold on? You never made me feel wanted. Only when you got something out of it. And that's why…" he stammered, then cleared his throat to regain his confidence. "I will always love you, Kairi. But you will not always be the love of my life. I gave you all of me, and I'm taking it back now. I'm giving it to somebody who deserves it." Sora gestured to the man in the cave, who slowly came out into the sunlight. Squinting, he gave Kairi a civil nod and took the boy's hand, squeezing it to show that he was proud of him. Kairi glared at them both.

"Well, if that's how you feel then you're making a huge mistake," she spat at Sora. "And _please, _you were a terrible boyfriend. I mean, just, like… Ugh!" She turned on her heel and stormed off. Sora wasn't surprised that she hadn't accepted anything he'd said to her. She was never able to handle guilt. But just the fact that he'd said it to her, was a great relief. Everything was clearer now. He knew what and who he wanted. And it wasn't Kairi. It was Riku.

* * *

Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud and Leon watched with delight as Kairi boarded the boat back to Destiny Islands.

"What a bitch," muttered Aerith. Leon shot her a raised eyebrow of admiration and Yuffie sniggered.

"Yeah, well now she's a rejected bitch with a broken rib and a lot of bruises," Yuffie said, grinning. Aerith grimaced,

"You're so violent Yuffie… you'll get into trouble for it one day."

"Yeah well," she shrugged, "not today." And she pointedly stuck her tongue out, resulting in a rather long-suffering sigh from Aerith.

"Those two are made for each other," Leon whispered to Cloud, making him squirt his freshly consumed lemonade out of his nostrils. In all the commotion, none of them noticed Riku and Sora approaching them, holding hands.

"Hey guys, whatcha doin'?" Sora inquired, playfully. They all whipped round and beamed, each clambering to be the first to give the new couple a hug.

"It's about time!" said Yuffie as she punched them both playfully on the arm. Sora gave her a dirty look as he pretended it hadn't hurt and Riku kissed it better.

"Wait a second," said Leon. "Riku… what are you _wearing?" _Riku looked down at the item Sora had knitted for him with a mixture of pride and embarrassment.

"Uhm," he replied, "it's a sweater vest." The four friends all inspected the garment for a moment, before Sora quietly stated,

"I made it." Giggles erupted and Sora turned a luminous shade of beetroot, but somehow, Riku's comforting arm on his shoulder sent all of his embarrassment away, and he broke into laughter with the rest of them.

* * *

Sora was never very good at thinking about the present. His head was always stuck in the past or worried about the future. But with Riku, the present was everything. Because it was so… beautiful. He was so much more relaxed, happy and generally carefree. He didn't have to worry about being cheated on, because he could trust Riku implicitly. He knew that he loved Sora, just as much as Sora loved him. Reaching up to grab the fresh fruit of the paopu tree, Sora smiled. It was as though he could start again from the beginning, and do everything just the way it was meant to be. He held the paopu close to his chest before taking a bite. Then, slowly, he raised the warm fruit to his lover's lips. Riku held the fruit and took a bite, never breaking eye contact with Sora. Once they had finished, they walked down to the beach, hand in hand.

"So, I guess that means we're stuck with each other now, huh?" Sora laughed.

"Yeah," replied Riku. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what, remember?"

"I remember," Sora smiled, "and there's no-one else I'd rather share it with." Riku turned to face the younger man, looked into his eyes and promised,

"Me neither, always and forever."

xXxXxXxXx

Fin.

xXxXxXxXx

Oh my, I wasn't quite expecting to finish so soon, but it feels right. At least the end of this chapter anyway. There may be a sequel or just another completely different story. I'm looking forward to it, whatever it may be, and I really cannot express enough how grateful I am for all of your support! You keep me writing! Love you all, and most of all: RIKU & SORA FOREVER! xNRx


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